The present invention relates generally to cargo-handling apparatus, and more specifically concerns the art of airplane cargo-handling apparatus. A significant problem in aircraft cargo operations concerns the loading and unloading of cargo at those destinations which have no powered ground-based cargo-handling equipment which elevate between the ground and the cargo hold of the aircraft. At most of the major airports in the world and certain other aircraft destinations, equipment is available which can be elevated to the height of the cargo hold to permit convenient loading and unloading of cargo between the aircraft and the ground installation.
However, there are many destinations which do not have such specialized equipment, but which have only ground-based cargo-handling equipment which moves the cargo at ground level only between the ground installation and the aircraft. To move cargo from such equipment into and out of the aircraft typically requires some type of on-board cargo-handling apparatus which elevates and lowers the cargo between the cargo hold of the aircraft and the ground equipment. Typically such an apparatus is conveniently stowable within the aircraft during flight, and then deployed at the destination to handle the movement of cargo between the aircraft and the ground installation. Examples of such on-board cargo-handling apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,904 to Courter, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,334 to Blakely et al.
Typically, however, as demonstrated by the above patents, such a mechanism is often complex and bulky as well as expensive, and thus there is a continuing need for a simple, inexpensive on-board apparatus which can efficiently load and unload cargo. Simplified cargo-handling systems have been developed, but it has been discovered that such systems are particularly vulnerable to swaying and twisting to such an extreme that cargo-handling operations become difficult, cumbersome, and in some cases dangerous. Thus, on-board cargo-handling apparatus should be sufficiently stable to resist swaying and twisting during cargo-handling operations.
In view of the above, it is a general object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art discussed above.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cargo-handling apparatus which is simple in construction and which resists swaying and/or twisting during cargo-handling operations.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a cargo-handling apparatus which is stowable on board the aircraft during flight.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a cargo-handling apparatus which includes a cargo platform which is power driven.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a cargo-handling apparatus which uses a portion of the aircraft body for bracing of the apparatus against swaying and/or twisting thereof.